When I was a child who knew little about Smash besides the characters which it featured, I could not help but select Mewtwo as my favorite character in Melee. I could only imagine how powerful a character Mewtwo must be, considering he was the strongest Pokémon in existence and all (at least at the time). You can understand my disappointment when, upon my reentry into a Smash, this time through a competitive lens, I discovered that Mewtwo was considered one of the worst characters in the game (at times, even being deemed the very worst character).

However, I later found myself questioning the claims against my precious Mewtwo. After seeing the amazing gameplay of such players as Taj, Leffen, and Zoma, I began to regain hope that something could be made of this alleged low tier. So what exactly can Mewtwo do in the current metagame? This is the question I hope to answer through this article. I will begin with some general pros and cons to Mewtwo’s moveset and design, and then move into a brief of summary of Mewtwo’s match-ups against each of the top eight characters plus Samus (I consider these characters to be the most relevant in today’s metagame and therefore the most pertinent match-ups for determining Mewtwo’s competitive potential).

General Overview:

First, let’s discuss Mewtwo’s positive attributes which, for a low tier, are surprisingly high in number. With his large double jump and Teleport, Mewtwo has arguably the best recovery in the game, making it rather difficult to edgeguard this character. He also has a solid punish game, with solid combo starters in his up and down throws, as well as in his down tilt, and powerful edgeguarding tools in his back throw and back-air. In addition, with the low end lag on his Teleport, his long roll, his good wavedash, Shadow Ball charge cancels, and the backwards momentum from launching a Shadow Ball, Mewtwo has a lot of tricky movement options which can be used keep Mewtwo away from his opponent, or conversely to aid in his approach. And of course, we can’t forget the Confusion ledge glitch, which still catches players off-guard after years of usage.

Unfortunately, Mewtwo has a lot of downsides, many of which directly negate some of his better characteristics. As a large lightweight, Mewtwo is arguably the worst character in the game defensively, as he is easy both to combo and to kill. This problem is further exacerbated by his bad shield, which barely covers his massive body and is rather easy to shield stab; his poor out of shield options, which further make shielding a subpar option for Mewtwo; and the enormous hurtbox on his tail, which makes it dangerous for Mewtwo to even turn his back to his opponent. Furthermore, Mewtwo lacks good options in the neutral, where most of his time is spent charging/launching Shadow Balls and waiting for his opponent to give him an opening, occasionally managing to intercept his opponent’s approach with something like neutral-air or up tilt.

Despite his strong punish game, many other factors limit Mewtwo’s full offensive potential. His approach is incredibly predictable, with his only reliable methods for getting in against any opponent being wavedash in down tilt and leaping neutral-air or forward-air. While he has devastating combo extensions which he can perform on may characters, he lacks effective kill power against many of those same characters. While he has amazing throws which play a large role in his punish game, he has a lackluster grab, making the initial execution of his punishes somewhat of a challenge. Overall, Mewtwo’s design is problematic, as his very evident flaws make it difficult to make use of his limited strengths. Going forward, we will take a look at how Mewtwo fares against each of the most relevant characters in the modern meta.

vs. Fox

One of the biggest factors that could keep Mewtwo alive in the current metagame is the fact that he does fairly well against Fox (at least against a Fox who doesn’t know the match-up). Mewtwo’s grab game is incredibly strong against Fox, as he can use up throw to start combos, down throw to start tech chases, and back throw to force Fox offstage. While his combos don’t tend to get too complex, Mewtwo can rack up a ton of damage against Fox simply by using up throw, forward-air, and the occasional up-air. In addition, Fox’s recovery is rather easy for Mewtwo to intercept with back-air or the backwards hit of up-air, allowing edeguards to make up for Mewtwo’s struggle to kill otherwise (although the hurtbox on his tail does mean Mewtwo will often find himself trading with Fox’s Up-B). With up tilt acting as a strong anti-air option, Mewtwo also does a decent job controlling the immediate air space, giving him excellent tools for disposing of a Fox who approaches recklessly.

A campy Fox, however, is much more difficult for Mewtwo to deal with. His large body, coupled with his bad shield, make him incredibly susceptible to damage from lasers. This playstyle forces Mewtwo to approach, which he isn’t very good at doing in the first place. As a result, a campy Fox is able to control the pace of the match, waiting for his own opportunities to strike, and often securing early kills with strong finishers like up smash and up-air. While Fox is able to combo Mewtwo fairly well, it is worth noting that Fox’s combo game is rather different against Mewtwo than against more prominent characters, making match-up familiarity key for Fox to excel.

Fox’s shine can’t really be used as a combo tool in this match-up, as a grounded shine will force Mewtwo into knockdown, a fact which can really throw off Fox players used to throwing out shine liberally in other match-ups. Still, shine is a move which Mewtwo doesn’t have a great way of getting around, making it effective even if it isn’t always optimal. Mewtwo is also left with subpar options when it comes to stage choice; while he dies incredibly early on small stages, bigger stages play directly into the campy playstyle which Fox ought to employ. In short, this match-up, while certainly doable for Mewtwo, is significantly tougher if the Fox knows what he’s doing.

vs. Falco

Interestingly, Mewtwo seems to struggle a bit more against Falco than he does Fox. Offensively, this match-up is nearly the same as the match-up against Fox. Mewtwo still thrives off of grab combos, juggles Falco while he’s in the air, and secures most of his kills via edgeguards. If anything, the edgeguarding is a little easier, since Falco has a worse recovery than Fox and his Up-B lacks a hitbox on its initial charge, meaning Mewtwo is less likely to trade with it when he goes out to back-air it. However, on the defensive end, this match-up becomes even worse for Mewtwo.

While Fox’s lasers can tack on lots of damage, Falco’s lasers have the ability to completely shut down Mewtwo’s approach and render his neutral fruitless. As Mewtwo has no effective way to bypass these lasers ‒ other than perhaps Teleporting towards Falco and hoping Falco doesn’t punish ‒ a campy Falco has the ability to completely wall Mewtwo out, giving Mewtwo next to no opportunities to initiate an offensive of any kind. On top of that, Falco has an easier time comboing Mewtwo than Fox, as his down-air remains a potent combo tool and his shine sends Mewtwo upwards, resulting in a combo game for Falco which is relatively untouched from other match-ups. I suppose the trade-off is that Falco can’t kill quite as easily as Fox, although killing Mewtwo still isn’t particularly difficult for him. While Mewtwo struggles with patient opponents in general, Falco becomes perhaps the most oppressive upon employing this kind of playstyle.

vs. Marth

As difficult as the Falco match-up is for Mewtwo, Marth is perhaps his greatest demon. Like Falco, Marth is extremely good at walling Mewtwo out. While Mewtwo excels at spacing outside of his opponent’s immediate range and hitting them with down tilt, he cannot do this against Marth since Marth outspaces him. In fact, Marth’s down tilt alone is enough to make Mewtwo’s grounded approaches ineffective. His best approach option is often to short hop over Marth’s down tilt and hit him with forward-air, but this is a somewhat dangerous commitment and it typically requires a read. Often times, a forward-air from Marth is all it takes to nullify Mewtwo’s aerial approaches as well.

Against Falco, Mewtwo can at least deal a lot of damage whenever he does manage to get it. This is not the case against Marth, however. Mewtwo struggles to string moves together against Marth, which means he has to win neutral much more frequently than against the spacies, which is difficult since Marth’s range invalidates Mewtwo’s already subpar neutral/approach tools. Marth’s somewhat mediocre recovery does at least make him vulnerable to back-air edgeguards, giving Mewtwo a little glimmer of hope of taking Marth’s stocks. However, with tipper smashes allowing for easy kills, Marth has a clear advantage over Mewtwo in just about every way.

vs. Sheik

Mewtwo’s match-up against Sheik is comparable to his match-ups against the spacies in regard to punish game. While he doesn’t typically use up throw as a combo starter like he might against Fox or Falco, Mewtwo’s other combo options remain useful for racking up damage against Sheik. Of course, Sheik can combo Mewtwo equally as hard; what’s more, her tech chases are super effective, so to speak, especially considering how slow Mewtwo’s roll is, making it easily reactable. While Mewtwo doesn’t struggle too terribly to kill Sheik, Sheik has no trouble at all vaporizing his stocks, especially on Yoshi’s Story, where down throw can combo into forward-air or up-air for early kills. In addition, Mewtwo doesn’t have good options for walling out Sheik’s approaches, whereas Sheik can keep him at bay through the use of Needles and forward tilt. This match-up is another example of Mewtwo being able to do really cool things on those rare occasions that he is able to touch his opponent.

vs. Peach

Like most of the floaties, Peach is difficult for Mewtwo to combo, meaning Mewtwo once again has to rely on winning multiple interactions with his subpar neutral tools in order to beat her. Peach’s turnips are better projectiles than Mewtwo’s Shadow Balls, further cementing the disparity in neutral presence between these two characters. What’s more, Mewtwo can’t even hope to use Peach’s turnips against her effectively because of his slow item throw, so his best bet for dealing with turnip pressure is to try to deflect them with his neutral-air. Peach’s strong aerial presence also makes it difficult for Mewtwo to approach; she can float over uncharged Shadow Balls and prepare to punish any approach attempt Mewtwo makes with one of her aerials.

Once Peach is offstage, Mewtwo is able to rack up a lot of damage with continual back-airs. However, it can be difficult to actually get kills in this way, since Peach’s recovery makes it to where so many successful interactions are required to close out an edgeguard sequence. Though not all hope is lost for Mewtwo against Peach; he boasts a decent amount of kill power against Peach, with a strong kill throw in his up throw, and a down tilt which combos into forward-air at kill percents.

vs. Captain Falcon

In many ways, Falcon and Mewtwo are fairly evenly matched, making this among Mewtwo’s best match-ups against the top tiers. Both characters get a lot off of grabbing each other: Because of Falcon’s size, weight, and fall speed, he is combo fodder for Mewtwo upon getting grabbed. In addition, Mewtwo is able to combo into his kill moves effectively (which is basically just his forward-air). On the flip side, Captain Falcon has a strong grab game of his own against Mewtwo and can combo into a forward-air to kill at very low percents.

Falcon has a stronger neutral and approach than Mewtwo, as his quick dash speed allows him to run circles around Mewtwo, with Mewtwo lacking effective options for keeping him out. Conversely, Mewtwo has a stronger edgeguarding game, as Falcon’s lackluster recovery leaves him quite susceptible to Mewtwo’s back-air edgeguards. Mewtwo must keep in mind, however, that the hurtbox on his tail makes him more likely to get hugged by Falcon’s Up-B, so he should wait until after the hitbox of Falcon’s Up-B has gone away before executing his back-air. While the match-up is still in Captain Falcon’s favor, Mewtwo has a lot of tools for racking up damage and disposing of his stocks.

vs. Ice Climbers

This match-up, though not terribly difficult, is weird in comparison to many of Mewtwo’s other match-ups. Since grabbing one of the Climbers can result in a punish from the other Climber, it’s generally not optimal to use a grab heavy playstyle, at least when both Climbers are active. To Mewtwo’s benefit, however, he doesn’t need to use grab often, since he relies mostly on down tilt and aerials to start combos and rack up damage. Mewtwo doesn’t have a terrible time approaching or killing ‒ edgeguarding is a simple task, especially against Popo ‒ and his neutral-air is a good tool for separating the Climbers. Of course, the Ice Climbers also get easy kills, with strong double Climber smash attacks and simple wobble set-ups. However, Mewtwo can do quite well against the Ice Climbers, as long as he knows the unique way in which he ought to approach the match-up.

vs. Samus

As a floaty heavyweight, Samus can be hard both for Mewtwo to combo and to kill. Samus wins the projectile game hard, as she can set up a barrage of Missiles which make Mewtwo’s approach seem nearly impossible, especially on Final Destination, where Mewtwo has no means of mixing up his approach. In addition, Samus can intercept Mewtwo’s aerial approach attempts with her forward-air, furthering the struggle of dealing damage for Mewtwo. Although Samus can’t combo Mewtwo much better than he can combo her, she does get easier kills with moves like forward smash. In addition, edgeguarding Samus is harder than against other characters since her Bombs can interfere with Mewtwo’s back-air timing. Though Mewtwo does have a decently strong aerial presence in this match-up, Samus has Mewtwo beat in just about every other regard.

vs. Jigglypuff

Fighting Puff can be both difficult and annoying for Mewtwo. Jigglypuff can easily duck under Mewtwo’s uncharged Shadow Balls, making Shadow Ball ineffective as a neutral tool. While Mewtwo does have decent kill power, he absolutely cannot combo Puff. His up tilt can be a decent anti-air to wall out Puff’s approaches, but once she gets in, Mewtwo has an incredibly hard time escaping the Wall of Pain. Mewtwo’s kill throws can kill Puff rather early, but it is hard to grab her since she spends a lot of time in the air and she can duck under Mewtwo’s grab when she is on the ground.

But worst of all is Rest. Not only does Mewtwo’s big body leave him open to Rest, but his light weight makes it to where Puff doesn’t have to rack up too much damage before throwing it out. For example, on Battlefield, Mewtwo can die after taking a Rest as early as 12%. In addition, Mewtwo’s subpar combo game makes it to where Puff can throw out Rest pretty liberally, as Mewtwo’s punish will only be particularly detrimental if she is at a high enough percent to die to up throw. Dealing with Puff takes extreme defensive patience and offensive precision from Mewtwo.

For the longest time, I was convinced that Mewtwo was underrated. I thought his grab game and recovery were too good for him to belong on the bottom end of the tier list. But after studying his match-ups a little more closely, I’ve actually been convinced otherwise. Mewtwo can undoubtedly do a lot of cool stuff (though, I’m sure other low tiers can too). And against an unfamiliar opponent, Mewtwo may very well have the edge, especially against fast-fallers who can be comboed and edgeguarded easily.

However, most of the top tiers can completely invalidate Mewtwo’s approach with a patient playstyle, leaving Mewtwo with no opportunity to show off the things that make him good. While there will always be low level Foxes to toss around with Mewtwo, keep in mind that even Taj has a Marth, and even Zoma has a Fox. Mewtwo, though a fun character for player and viewer alike and a solid choice for a secondary, his unsustainable as a competitive solo main in today’s metagame.

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